Conventional rotary wing aircrafts commonly use large bolts to form highly loaded connections between adjacent components, such as a gearbox housing and the structural airframe. These highly loaded connections typically require close tolerances to effectively distribute the loads between the component and the airframe. Some components of newer rotary wing aircrafts are formed from stronger materials to improve the fatigue life and load carrying capabilities of the components. When one of these new components is used in a highly loaded connection, the new component may have a different coefficient of thermal expansion than the part the new component is being coupled to.
The close tolerances and different coefficients of thermal expansion in combination can create problems during assembly and installation of the highly loaded connection in a location outside of standard room and machining temperature ranges. If a temperature differential exists between the components or if the assembly takes place in an environment warmer or cooler than room temperature, assembly of the components to form a highly loaded connection may be impossible.